<p>I hunted for the old thread, to no avail, so…fun times last night?
Even though I really have no idea who half of the celebrities are (I am clearly not hanging in the right circles…or maybe I am?), I had a good time! My method though is to DVR House and DWTS at the same time. Then with a lot of fast forwarding, avoiding the commercials entirely.
I will have to say no commercials is what makes DWTS watchable!</p>
<p>Let’s face it…I am sure I loved The Karate Kid way back when…apparently still do. Is Ralph Macchio cute or what? And so nice that he can dance a bit!
But I have to give major credit to Kirstie Alley. She just let loose in a really good way. Yahoo for all the chubby girls!!! I am thinking there was a reason they had her dance last…</p>
<p>Looking forward to next week, assuming my DVR fast forward is working!</p>
<p>Those two were clearly the best, though I also liked the Disney actress Chelsea. Looking back at highlights today, I see that Kirstie wasn’t as great as I thought she was last night, but she was just so out there that it was a joy to watch! I couldn’t help but contrast her to Kate Gosselin, who was so closed off.</p>
<p>Really disappoing Mike Catherwood wasn’t better. He’s so easy on the eyes that I want him to hang around longer.</p>
<p>I typically don’t watch DWTS, but I flipped through and saw a few train wrecks so I stuck around. I thought Kirstie Alley was entertaining the first time I saw her, then rewound and just looked at her footwork - she was quite good. I honestly thought she was going to be the train wreck of the night, but she was one of the best girls and should be around for many weeks to come. While her weight had been a concern in the press, she came across as fit, which is more important than a number.</p>
<p>Seriously…WHO are these people? I didn’t recognize Ralph Macchio, but I do remember him now. Kirstie Alley was the only other person I recognized. I’m really getting old and out of touch.</p>
<p>But Ralph and Kirstie were both great without looking like ringers. </p>
<p>I felt bad for Petra Nemacova – they didn’t go into it very much last night, but she barely escaped with her life (and was gravely injured) in the big tsunami in Thailand, and her fiance was killed. Seeing the pictures and hearing about all those killed in the tsunami in Japan a little more than a week ago must be particularly awful for her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has some PTSD that rears its head.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone-- I’m starting to think the “stars” are the professional dancers themselves. Romeo? Mike Catherwood? Chelsea Kane? Kendra? The wrestler? Etc. etc. </p>
<p>I was feeling sorry for Wendy Williams until seeing her reaction to the judge’s comments. She doesn’t seem to take criticism very well. She really doesn’t seem to have much dancing ability or potential. I’m not sure Petra has enough dancing ability to stay in the competiton long. Kirstie sure moves exceptionally well for someone her size and age. Her sense of humor is priceless and she will get lots of votes. Ralph doesn’t seem to have much competition from the other men, at least so far. Mike Catherwood just may be the worst dancer on the show. I think Chelsea would have to be considered one of the favorites to win it all. Her flaws right out of the gate seem to be minimal and easily corrected, hopefully she will be likeable with the voters.</p>
<p>I’m a “So You Think You Can Dance” fan, and though I’ve tried watching DWTS a few times, I just don’t get the appeal of watching people dance badly, really badly, and really, really, badly–about as appealing to me as “Singing with the Stars” would be if they had tone deaf celebrities caterwauling every week!</p>
<p>I love watching SYTYCD the most, but watch DWTS because I can imagine myself doing what they do. Or at least it would be WONDERFUL to get to do that! </p>
<p>I was also really tickled with Kirstie Allie’s performance…she is even older than I am!! So, cool!</p>
<p>I just found the video of Kirstie Alley on youtube, and I thought she was great. She looked like she was dancing, unlike some of the much younger female “stars” in previous seasons. I can’t believe she’s 60. She looks wonderful, and much younger.</p>
<p>I agree with MommaJ and churchmusicmom, SYTYCD has really good dancers and is the better show because of this fact. DWTS, though, is ONLY about ballroom dancing, which is my favorite form of dance. My D, who has been ballroom dancing for the past 7 or 8 years (and could tell you every great dancer’s name through all the years of SYTYCD), says “Dad, why do you watch a show mostly made up of dancers who can not dance?”</p>
<p>H & I have been avid ballroom dancers for the past 10+ years. We have taken private lessons from a wonderful teacher for the last 8 years (first every other wk, weekly for the last year). So I absolutely love DWTS. The interest isn’t always in a one-time performance, although Helio Castroneves’ samba or Gilles Marini’s Argentine tango were unforgettable. It’s more about watching people progress and discover things about themselves. Those are much more fun for me than for the frontrunners who cruise through like Kristi Yamaguchi or Jennifer Grey (although they were both wonderful). I am much more intrigued by the progress (both personal and dance) made by Kelly Osborne or Kyle Massey from last season. The revelation that was Gilles Marini was what DWTS is all about.</p>
<p>As a dance student and a teacher (of another subject), I enjoy watching what the pros can do with their partners. One of the hardest things for female pros is to teach the men to actually lead them. Cheryl Burke is amazing at doing this. The male pros often have trouble getting the women to come out of their shells if their not natural performers (I don’t think this will be a problem for Kirstie; we’ll see how Chelsea does with the more passionate dances.) </p>
<p>If I had to pick the 3 finalists after last night, I’d pick Kirstie, Ralph, and the football player (can’t think of his name). Chelsea may progress, but I’m not sure she has the fan base or the charisma to develop one, even though she will probably make real progress as a dancer. Kirstie has the personality, showmanship, and after last night’s cha cha, can really dance. She and Maks appear to get along well and enjoy what they’re doing. Maks can be difficult, but I think they are actually well matched. </p>
<p>Ralph is so darned cute. Hopefully, he’ll bring along a couple of generations of fan base. He’s pretty darned good, and I hope Karina doesn’t mess it up for him. She’s much better at dancing around her partners who stand still than actually choreographing anything. </p>
<p>The football player may just come out on top. Kym is a great teacher/dancer, he’s obviosuly got some raw dance skills, athletes know how to train hard and focus, and he’s got a big personality. And his fan base is large and faithful, given how many football players have gone far.</p>
<p>That was so surprising, because Maks said that their first practice only lasted 20 minutes because her cardio was so bad.</p>
<p>I like to see how the pros get their stars to open up. Even though some are graceful to begin with (Kristi Yamaguchi, for example), even she really had a hard time opening up and shaking her booty. Mark did such a great job with her.</p>
<p>Even Kate Gosselin, when she did that one dance where she let down her walls, was fun to cheer on.</p>
<p>That Wendy Williams really needs to let down her walls!</p>
<p>I miss Derek and his sister…I loved to watch them dance and their choreography was so fun.</p>
<p>Does anyone have a theory as to why this is the case? I always assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the voting audience is largely made up of women. Are they the ones voting for the football players?</p>
<p>I’ve always loved Kirstie Alley’s sense of humor. When she said “If I had to haul a$$, it would take two trips,” I nearly choked on my drink. I think she has had so much criticism about her weight that she figures she’ll just beat people to the punch and get on with it.</p>